Some vehicles include an engine assembly for propulsion. The engine assembly may include an internal combustion engine and a fuel injection system. The internal combustion engine includes one or more cylinders. Each cylinder defines a combustion chamber. During operation, the internal combustion engine combusts an air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber in order to move a piston disposed in the cylinder.
Uneven temperature distributions are established in internal combustion engines due to combustion of the air/fuel mixture, and cooling of the engine structure to maintain mechanical robustness. Coatings can be used to insulate the hot combustion gas from the cold, water-cooled engine block, to avoid energy loss by transferring heat from the combustion gas to the cooling water. Further, during the intake cycle, the coatings should cool down rapidly in order to not heat up the fuel-air mixture before ignition.